Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Second Master was really impressed by him.

First, he really did stand out looks-wise among the servants.

He was also brought out of the slave camp by his second son, so it was hard not to notice him.

Second, word was that Gu Zhangyuan only survived last time because this guy stepped in to help.

Second Master honestly couldn't figure it out—how the hell was this guy so good?

When his son had him targeted and Gu Tinghe was beating him, why didn't he fight back?

Was the timing just off?

Or was there some other reason?

Before Second Master could keep mulling it over, he heard the horse slave speak up and ask, "You want to keep your second uncle alive?"

Second Master—what the hell did he mean by that? Was he thinking what he thought he was thinking?

With that thought, he instinctively ducked behind one of the yamen runners.

Xie Licheng's question was directed at Gu Zhangyuan. Seeing a bunch of bandits flooding into the courtyard, Gu Zhangyuan, while scrambling toward Xie Licheng in a panic, shot back coldly, "No."

First Master of the Gu family opened his mouth to say something, but remembering what his second brother had just done, he just sighed and kept his mouth shut.

Seeing how many people were packed in here and knowing that swords and blades didn't discriminate in a fight, Xie Licheng crouched down so Gu Zhangyuan could climb onto his back.

His dad was right there, and so were his brother and sister.

Gu Zhangyuan felt a little awkward about it, but with all these officials and bandits around,

he really couldn't defend himself, so he wasted no time climbing onto Xie Licheng's back.

Once he was up, Gu Zhangyuan's eyes were red as he said to Xie Licheng, "Can you protect my dad and sister too?"

He knew he was asking for a lot, but he really couldn't stand the thought of anything happening to them.

Xie Licheng just said, "I'll try."

If he really couldn't protect them, he wasn't about to risk his own neck.

After all, he wasn't some saint.

With this many yamen runners and bandits around, even with his crazy skills, there was no way he could protect everyone at once.

So why not just shove everyone into his pocket dimension?

Xie Licheng could use it to save people, but he wasn't about to blow his cover to do it.

There were too many people here, too many eyes watching. He couldn't guarantee he'd be able to kill them all.

If the secret got out, he'd become a target for everyone.

In times like these, carrying a treasure like that was a death sentence.

In this world, besides the original male lead's lover being a transmigrator, now there was Xie Licheng as another one.

What if there were other transmigrators out there, each with their own cheat abilities?

If his identity and secret got exposed, Xie Licheng would be at a serious disadvantage.

Seeing that Gu Zhangyuan had a tight grip, Xie Licheng spun around and took care of Second Master Gu first.

Since Gu Zhangyuan said not to keep him, there was no reason to let him live.

He'd tried to kill Gu Zhangyuan once, then tried to give him away to someone else. Without Xie Licheng protecting him, Gu Zhangyuan would've been dead twice by now.

Xie Licheng was way too fast—with 50 agility and practiced aim,

before anyone around could even react, a short blade was already sticking out of Second Master Gu's head.

Second Master didn't die right away. He reached up in disbelief and touched his head.

He'd just ducked behind a yamen runner, then saw that Xie Licheng wasn't coming for him right away and was busy worrying about Gu Zhangyuan, so he poked half his head out.

And right then, that horse slave—like he had eyes in the back of his head—drove the blade straight at him.

Finding a knife in his head, Second Master—whether he died of fright or something else—rolled his eyes and keeled over stiff.

Seeing that, the Gu family's traitorous servants scattered in terror behind the yamen runners and bandits, like they were scared Xie Licheng would slaughter them all.

But Xie Licheng didn't even bother with them. With Gu Zhangyuan on his back, a blade in one hand and a short knife in the other, he quickly cut down two bandits in front of him.

He glanced back at First Master of the Gu family, then at little Gu Yangxue.

Gu Zhangyuan got it right away and called out quickly, "Father, sister, hurry and follow."

With too many outsiders around the Gu estate, Xie Licheng couldn't just shove them into his pocket dimension.

He planned to get them out first, find a quiet spot, and then tuck them into his dimension.

Once he was rid of these dead weights, Xie Licheng could move around a lot more freely.

First Master was injured and could barely walk.

Gu Yangxue was frail, and having to care for their father, she struggled to keep up.

Several times, Gu Yangxue nearly got hurt by the bandits.

Fortunately, Xie Licheng's skills were superb, always taking down those who approached her at critical moments.

The only one who could keep up was Gu Tinghe, who knew some martial arts.

But even though he could follow, Xie Licheng wasn't keen on saving him.

When he saw Gu Tinghe nearly get slashed by a bandit, Xie Licheng acted as if he hadn't noticed; Gu Tinghe only narrowly escaped on his own.

It was then that Gu Tinghe realized Xie Licheng's preferential treatment.

He wanted to curse the man as a lowly slave—he was his master, how could he treat him like this?

But he wasn't foolish enough to act on it; he knew they needed Xie Licheng now.

So even though he saw Xie Licheng's reluctance to help him, he still strove to keep pace.

Gu Zhangyuan wanted Gu Tinghe to help their father and sister, but he noticed that not only was Gu Tinghe not helping them, he seemed to be trying to push their sister forward as a shield.

Gu Zhangyuan was frantic and quickly asked Xie Licheng to set him down.

It wasn't that Gu Zhangyuan was ungrateful, nor that he didn't realize how dangerous the situation was.

He knew all of it, and precisely because he knew, he couldn't bear to abandon his father and sister.

The Gu family had suffered such a calamity, and everything outside was in chaos too.

There would be hardly anyone left of the Gu family now; his father and sister were his only remaining kin, and he just couldn't leave them behind.

After Gu Zhangyuan got down, he grabbed his father's hand with one hand and Gu Yangxue's with the other.

With Gu Zhangyuan's help, Old Master Gu and Gu Yangxue were doing a bit better.

Gu Zhangyuan was in decent shape, and having been through worse before, he was mentally tougher now.

He was strong, and with Xie Licheng constantly watching over him, none of those bandits could get close.

And so, in a total mess, they managed to escape from the old master's courtyard.

But once they got outside, they realized it was even crazier out there than in here.

In that short time, more people had barged in from outside.

Xie Licheng couldn't tell who was who, or what the hell was going on in Lingzhou right now.

And then an explosion came from the outer courtyard.

It seemed the main characters had a hand in this too.

Xie Licheng's gaze turned cold, and he fought a retreating battle, leading them into a room.

Much to Xie Licheng's surprise, Gu Tinghe had followed them in too.

He had to admit, this guy really wanted to live.

For a second, Xie Licheng wanted to toss him out.

But then he thought about how Gu Tinghe was a gē'er. If he threw him out now...

Those bandits outside would definitely use the worst possible methods to humiliate him.

Xie Licheng really did hate him, but he wouldn't let him become those bandits' toy just because of that.

Getting back at a gē'er he disliked shouldn't involve such low-down tactics.

He was too strong a man to stoop to that.

Besides, compared to Gu Tinghe, Xie Licheng hated those bandits even more.

Xie Licheng wouldn't let anything happen that would make those bandits happy.

As for his grudge with Gu Tinghe, he'd find plenty of ways to make him suffer later.

Once Xie Licheng got them inside, a crowd quickly gathered outside.

Those guys knew how tough Xie Licheng was, and probably didn't want to go in one by one to get killed.

So they discussed among themselves, then piled up a bunch of firewood, planning to burn them out.

Gu Zhangyuan heard the ruckus outside and couldn't help asking fearfully, "What do we do? They've got us surrounded."

Xie Licheng smiled at that and was about to tell him not to be scared.

Then Gu Tinghe had to open his mouth at the wrong moment. "Yeah, hurry up and think of something, or we're all gonna die trapped in here."

Xie Licheng heard him and looked over at him.

Gu Tinghe knew they had bad blood, and when he saw Xie Licheng suddenly look at him, he immediately ducked behind Old Master Gu.

Gu Tinghe said, "Father, tell him to think of something! I heard those people outside saying they're gonna burn us alive. I don't wanna die. Make him go out alone and kill them all."

Old Master Gu was injured and looked grim.

He quickly grabbed Gu Tinghe's hand, signaling him to shut up from now on.

Gu Tinghe pouted secretly, not getting why his father was so scared of that guy.

Old Master Gu stayed quiet. He knew from the steward and Gu Zhangyuan that Xie Licheng was formidable, and that he must have some reason for bringing them here.

And judging by how calm and composed he looked, they probably weren't at a dead end yet.

Xie Licheng ignored Gu Tinghe. He smiled again at Gu Zhangyuan and said, "I saved you again."

Gu Zhangyuan saw that he didn't seem worried, and slowly calmed down too.

He knew Xie Licheng well enough—the guy was always strong and steady, like he could handle anything.

Because he knew how capable Xie Licheng was, and knew he'd protect him, Gu Zhangyuan stopped panicking.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't know what he meant by that, so he quickly stood and bowed to Xie Licheng.

"Thank you, sir, for saving me again."

"I didn't say that to get your thanks."

"Then... then what do you want me to do?"

Xie Licheng joked, "You're so beautiful—it'd be great if you could be my wife."

He just wanted to lighten the mood so Gu Zhangyuan wouldn't be so scared.

But once he actually said it, he couldn't help regretting it.

Because it sounded like he was exploiting the moment.

Just as Xie Licheng was about to say he was joking,

he saw Gu Zhangyuan lower his long lashes and give a slight nod.

Xie Licheng: "...??"

Seeing his shocked expression, Gu Zhangyuan tucked a strand of loose hair behind his ear and said, "Fine, I can be your wife, but I have one condition."

Xie Licheng frowned, feeling like things were going in an unexpected direction.

It felt like... he was taking advantage of someone's desperation, forcing Gu Zhangyuan into an agreement, forcing love on him.

Xie Licheng wanted to explain, but he was also genuinely curious what condition Gu Zhangyuan would propose.

So he simply kept quiet, wanting to see what Gu Changyuan had to say.

Gu Changyuan lifted his chin slightly, speaking with a hint of refined pride: "I am the eldest young master of the Gu family, and my status is most noble. If I marry you, you must present betrothal gifts. What I ask for as a betrothal gift is that you help save my father and sister."

Gu Tinghe, who'd had enough, flew into a rage at these words.

"What about me? I'm your brother too, aren't I?!"

Gu Yangxue, at her limit, slapped him.

"Shut your mouth!"

Gu Tinghe shot up, reaching out to strike Gu Yangxue.

"You bitch, how dare you hit me! I'll kill you!"

Before he could touch Gu Yangxue, another slap landed on his face.

This time it was Elder Master Gu who hit him, and since it was his dad, Gu Tinghe didn't dare fight back.

Gu Tinghe whined, "Dad, even big brother won't save me! I'm your son too!"

Elder Master Gu said, "If you just talk less, you might actually survive."

Can't he see that Gu Changyuan is sacrificing his looks, desperately trying to save them all?

That foolish child—who on earth did he take after? Even at a time like this, he could still kick up a fuss.

Xie Licheng paid no heed to Gu Tinghe, who was ruining the mood, but fixed his burning gaze on Gu Changyuan and said, "Are you certain you want to be my husband? I'm the type to take things seriously. Once you agree, don't regret it."

Gu Zhangyuan saw that he still hadn't agreed, and it seemed the fire had already started outside—he could smell the choking smoke.

Panicked and anxious, he hurried over to Xie Licheng and planted a kiss on his lips.

"I won't regret it. As long as you can get us out of here, I'll do whatever you want from now on."

Xie Licheng, who had initially not wanted to take advantage of the situation, now had all other thoughts fly out of his head.

A beauty like this ought to be his wife.

If he didn't make him his wife, was he just supposed to let the protagonist, Song Qiyue, have him?

No way. Gu Zhangyuan was his, and his alone.

Gu Zhangyuan reached out and took Xie Licheng's hand, then lowered his voice and pleaded with him shyly, "Get us out of here first—they're starting the fire."

Hearing this, Xie Licheng grabbed Gu Zhangyuan's wrist and yanked him hard into his arms.

He ducked his head and planted a firm kiss on Gu Zhangyuan's lips.

Then he wrapped an arm around him and said with a grin, "Alright then, grab hold of them, and I'll get you all out."

Gu Zhangyuan didn't get how he planned to do it, but he obeyed on instinct and reached out to grab the others.

He grabbed Gu Yangxue and his father, completely forgetting about Gu Tinghe.

But Elder Master Gu was sharp—while the two weren't looking, he quietly reached out and grabbed Gu Tinghe.

Then, in a flash, their vision blurred, and they were somewhere else entirely.

Xie Licheng didn't go in with them. Instead, once he'd sent them inside, he immediately kicked the door open and rushed out of the room.

Flames were raging outside, and the fire was pretty big.

Xie Licheng charged through the flames, his clothes and hair catching alight.

He swiftly stripped off his burning shirt while knocking down a person who rushed at him.

When he noticed that a chunk of his precious hair had been burned off, Xie Licheng, annoyed, snapped another person's neck.

So annoying.

He'd spent so long growing out his hair!

While Xie Licheng was throwing a fit over his hair, over on the other side, Gu Yangxue was clinging to Gu Zhangyuan's arm, staring in fear at the group of villagers surrounding them.

Gu Yangxue asked fearfully, "Who... who are they? And where... where are we?"

Gu Tinghe was also a bit scared. He instinctively grabbed his father's hand and asked, "Where is this place? Where's that horse slave?"

The old master had no idea either, so he could only look to Gu Zhangyuan for help.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't know where this place was either, but... thinking that Xie Licheng would never harm him, he still mustered his courage and raised his head to ask the villagers, "Who are you people? Where is this place?"

A small, thin girl stepped forward. "We are people saved by the Benefactor. We don't know where this place is either."

Gu Zhangyuan: "Benefactor? The one who saved you—is he a tall man?"

The little girl, Xiao Rui, nodded immediately upon hearing this. "Yes, yes, yes. Since you were able to come here, it must have been the Benefactor who saved you too. By the way, is the Benefactor alright? I'm a little worried about him."

Gu Zhangyuan: "He's fine. He..."

Without them tagging along as dead weight, those people shouldn't be able to give him any trouble.